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Ren Adam, Editor |
January 22nd, 2010
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January is Rotary Awareness Month
Upcoming Programs and Events
Presented by Program Chairman, Leland Hammerschmitt and his crew.
January 29th-Gil Cates-Creative Director, Geffen Playhouse-Producing the Academy Awards
February 5th-Sarah Lovering-Medical Marijuana-California Status
February 12th-Linda LeBrock-Boys and Girls Club Director
February 19th-Herb Rogove-Science (TBD)
February 26th-SeaBees from Pt. Magu
In the Beginning....
President Scott, ready for the floods was seen gathering pairs of animals and starting a building project. Many thanks to our greeters, for the Pledge, and the reading of the 4 Way Test.
Guests and Visiting Rotarians
The Jan. 22 meeting was well attended with a number of guests, among them Krista Waydo, a Nordhoff grad who worked at Tottenham Court since being in the 8th grade, and who was counseled not to bother with higher education, took advantage of the plethora of local scholarships that became available to her, including one from our Club, and eventually graduated U.C. Irvine. Among her many accomplishment and life highlights since her graduation, was being a contestant on the reality series “Survivor.”
The lone Visiting Rotarian was former Ojai Rotary Club member, Jane Lax from Oxnard.
Announcements. . .
Tony Thacher told us of the Rotary District 5240 Conference on Global Drinking Water, The Race to 2015, a review of Drinking Water Projects underway in the District, other groups in Central California at work on drinking water and where RI is going on Drinking Water Funding. It will take place on February 13, 2010 at 9AM in Richter Hall at California Lutheran University at 60 West Olsen Road, Thousand Oaks, CA. For more information contact Tony Thacher or Scott Smith or click here.
Seen here is Tony, accurately predicting from which direction the rain will come.
According to club secretary Judy Gabriel, Ojai Rotary Club, since the Haiti earthquake, has raised more than $7,000 for Haiti relief, said funds to be forwarded to the beleaguered country through The Rotary Foundation, then on to the district and then to Haiti. Please write the check to RCOF and designate it to Haiti Relief for a tax deductible donation. Please see the video under Final Thoughts.
Pres. Elect Mike Weaver gave a presentation on The Rotary Foundation and the Annual Program Fund, which Ojai Rotary has a tradition of supporting across the membership.
“Our club has a tradition of all members giving to the program fund, as much as possible, and the absolute cutoff for this unrestricted giving is Jan. 31,” Weaver said.
Checks made out to TRF for Rotary Foundation giving may be sent to Peter Haggerty at PO Box 511, Ojai, 93024.
Fining: Grant "Rocky" Kemp
Rocky Kemp took over the fining duties and nicked Don Scanlon for 28 years in Rotary and another $72 for a birthday; Bill Ghormley for his 46th anniversary; Dick Weirick has a “new” '65 Corvette of which he is extremely proud; Lerie Bjornstedt donated to Ojai Education Foundation for finally getting her Arcade office space rented.
Jane McCarthy was a happy Rotarian as her Irish Wolfhound, which had been missing for more than 18 hours -- spooked by thunder and lightning -- was found prior to the meeting.
Dr. Robin was faced with the trivia question: What is the most rain dumped anywhere in CA in 24 hours? (26 inches); and Pres. Scott had to guess at Ojai's record rainfall: During the year 1969, Ojai was provided with 69 inches of rain.
Early Rotary Humor
from
Stripped Gears, the Rotarian Humor Page started in 1940
The Program: Getting to know you...Getting to know all about you!
Assembled Rotarians were treated to two craft talks, one by Jeff Loebl and the other by Amani Hishmeh.
JEFF LOEBL has lived in Ojai since 1952, is a Thacher School grad who went on to Northwestern U. and then to Pacific McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento. He worked in the anti-trust division of the Justice Department and matriculated from there to becoming involved in a professional baseball team in Charlotte.
He returned to Ojai in 2003 and opened his practice on Aliso Street, where he is currently becoming further educated in bio-ethics.
Jeff is married to Laura and has two children and two dogs.
Jeff was quick to thank Frank Fink for easing his way through the blue badge process.
Nick Frank, Jeff's sponsor to the club, related that Jeff had been involved with the Sioux Falls Canaries, and that Nick's son had played for the Canaries after his graduation from Long Beach State.
AMANI HISHMEH hails from Amman, Jordan, where she attended university, majored in pharmacy and met her husband-to-be Nick, whom she married after graduation.
They owned a pharmacy in Jordan for four years prior to moving to the U.S., after which she stayed home for a year.
When she went back to work, it was as a manager for Rite Aid in Ojai, before buying the Medicine Shoppe franchise store in Santa Paula and then the shop here in Ojai, where she has been for six years.
Her Medicine Shoppe in Ojai has recently expanded to include the sale of Medicare approved beds, chairs and many other devices; and they provide flu shots and are diabetic certified.
Dr. Bob Skankey commended Amani during her talk for her selfless donations to Rotary's work in Roatan and Africa.
Final Thoughts
First Responder Mark Pearson on Rotary Haiti Relief Effort
